Wish You Could Fall Like Me
by larrystylinson8976
Summary: All is good and beautiful in Concord. The girls are excited to start there sophomore year of high school and another year of book club. What happens when a new girl, Dylan, shows up? and What happens when she has a crush on one of their boyfriends?
1. Chapter 1

\- Jess -

"You must be joking." Emma's voice crackles through the phone. There's a sense of shock but also realization. She giggles slightly, digesting the information.

"Her name is Dylan, she's transferring to our high school. Her mom met my mom at a yoga class. She told me this morning." I explain, this is just as annoying for me as it is for Emma. The book club is a safe place for us all, somewhere where we can all be ourselves, that's hard when someone we've never met joins.

Emma sighs through the phone. "So I guess we'll see her tonight?"

Tonight we have a meeting but also an end of summer/start of school party, mother daughter book club families only, so I guess that now includes Dylan Jamieson and her family.

I nod but realize that Emma can't see me, and reply "Yea, I think so. I'll be at your house around 4?"

Emma responds with a hesitant yes and we say our goodbyes and hang up. I push myself off my bed and march downstairs into our boiling hot kitchen. My mom is sitting at the table humming and typing furiously on her computer.

"Hey Hun, would you mind going into town and picking up some flour? I need to make a cake for the party tonight and I completely forgot about flour." I'm still upset with my mom for springing a new addition to our club on me, especially since it's the first year back with Emma since she went to England. Things were not the same without her. Regardless of my anger, I nod my head in response, slide on my shoes and walk into town.

It's really pretty in the summer in Concord, but right now most people are celebrating their final weekend of freedom before school starts, so most people are out of town which makes the town all that more quiet. When I reach the market, I grab the flour, pay and head home.

"Jess!" I hear my name being screeched. I turn around to reveal Stewart Chadwick. Becca's older brother and Emma's boyfriend. I smile and wave. I haven't seen much of Steward during the summer, mostly because I've been helping at the farm but we aren't really friends.

"Hey, how are you?" I ask and he smiles and holds up a bag with a bunch of vegetables. Mrs. Chadwick is in charge of vegetables for tonights party, and she must have forgotten the same way my mom did. I smile and hold up my bag and wave it around.

"You excited for tonight?" Stewart asks, there's a gleam in his eyes and I know why. Him and Emma haven't seen much of each other during the summer, and I think tonight the first time they are really seeing each other. I nod vigorously because I get to see Darcy Hawthorne, Emma's older brother and my boyfriend.

Stewart smirks " I have to go but I'll see you tonight at Emma's" I nod and wave goodbye.

Once I'm home, I put the flour on the table and my mom looks up and thanks me and quickly notes that I need to be ready in an hour and to bring my suit with me. Then returns to typing on her computer. I nod and go to my room to get ready.

I put my make up on carefully, I'm careful not to put too much on because when we go swimming I do not want to turn into a raccoon. I put on a yellow sundress and slip on my flip flops, and let my blonde hair out of my long lasting braid. I stuff my red bikini in my bag and grab a towel as well and head downstairs. My mom has moved and changed into a dress and has the keys in her hand.

"Your brothers and your dad will come later, after the club meeting." I nod and we hop into our truck. My thighs burn against the hot leather.

We make our way over to the Hawthorne's, and to my surprise everyone is there already except for one new member. I say hi to everyone and sit on the floor next to the couch where Emma is sitting.

Mrs. Hawthorne is standing and claps her hands together to get our attention. I glance at Emma through the corner of my eye.

" So ladies, you're starting your sophomore year in high school! It's so exciting! But we have big news to add to your excitement. We have decided to add a member to the club. Her name is Dylan Jamieson, she'll be a sophomore as well and she just transferred to your high school." Cassidy's eyes are huge, Becca throws her head back and groans, and Megan looks confused. I knew that they would not react any better than Emma and I.

The doorbell rings and Mrs. Sloane Kinkaid shuffles towards the door. The room is silent and everyone's trying not to look at Mrs. Hawthorne. We can hear Dylan and her mom being greeted by Cassidy's mom. There voices get louder and suddenly, whom I presume is Dylan awkwardly comes in with her mom.

"Hi, I'm Dylan" She smiles and waves.

This is going to be a long year.


	2. Chapter 2

\- Emma-

"Hi, I'm Emma Hawthorne." I say as I push myself off the couch and throw my hand out. I break the silence and look around, as if to encourage the other girls to introduce themselves. Megan receives the hint and nudges Becca and Cassidy. We all greet ourselves and take our seats. Dylan is pretty, she's about my height but she has thin blonde hair and piercing green eyes. She's wearing a random shirt with a pair of shorts. She looks normal but a little scared. She catches me looking at her and I offer her a smile and she smiles back.

My mom continues to introduce Dylan, then moves on to the important topic. Books. "So this year, I thought maybe the girls could decide what book to read? I know Emma has been conjuring up some ideas." She looks over at me knowingly.

"I was thinking Before I Fall?" Becca looks up, Megan starts to smile and even Cassidy looks excited.

"Yes!" Jess says with excitement.

"That's a great idea, Emma" Dylan says.

"Looks like the girls agree!" Mrs. Hawthorne says excitedly. "Why don't we call it a day, and get the party started, we can discuss details later, but how about we say about 4 chapters by next meeting?" We nod, excited that the party is about to get going. There's still about 15 minutes before the rest of our families are supposed to get here. Darcy and dad have been waiting in the kitchen, so once they realize that the meeting is over, Darcy makes a beeline to Jess and Dad makes a beeline to the barbecue. After about 5 minutes of chatting, all of the girls head up to my room to change into our suits.

"So, how's Stewart?" Megan asks as she flops down onto my bed. Jess smiles and sits next to Megan. Dylan, Cassidy and Becca sit down on the floor.

"Who's Stewart?" Dylan asks curiously.

"My dork older brother, and Emma's boyfriend." Becca responds. I start to blush, I always do when his name is brought up.

"He's good, I actually didn't see him much over the summer though, so I'm really excited for tonight." I say and smile. We all change into our suits and head down to the pool. Delany's, and Sloane-Kinkaids showed up while we were changing. Jess' twin brothers are already splashing around in the pool and Courtney and Darcy are talking about college with there feet in the pool. Courtney's bouncing Chloe on her knee. I'm a little disappointed that the Chadwicks aren't here yet but I'm sure they will be soon. I'm in too much of a daydream to realize that Cassidy is charging towards me, and before I know it I'm being thrown in the water. I come up for air to a cackling Cassidy. All of a sudden Megan, Becca and Jess all jump in and we are too busy in a water fight to see that Dylan is standing out looking uncomfortable.

"Dylan, c'mon you can get in ya know?" She sighs and jumps in with us. We keep splashing each other and then move to the shallow end to talk. I hear voices echoing through our house and I hope that it's the Chadwicks. As soon as I see Stewart I almost jump from excitement but I try to play it cool and continue to talk to my friends. Moments later I feel two arms snake around my waist and spin me around. I squeal out and giggle. All the girls are smiling as I turn around to see Stewarts big gray eyes looking down at me. He pulls me a little closer and our lips touch. I smile into the kiss and breathlessly we both pull apart.

"I missed you." I whisper and he laughs and spins me around again.

"Hey guys, we're still here!" Cassidy says and breaks our moment. I laugh as Stewart sets me down. He kisses my forehead and we turn our attention back to the group.

I notice that Jess and Darcy have moved out of the pool and are talking at the on the tables.

"How was your summer Stewart?" Megan asks.

"Pretty good, but I missed my Emma. How was yours?" It's nice to see that Stewart and my friends are getting along, not that they didn't before, but they talk much more and are more comfortable together.

"I'm actually excited to go back to school, I never thought I'd say that, but I miss Simon and I've spent most of the summer missing him, so I'm grateful for the distraction." Megan replies

"How can you be excited for torture in its best form?" Cassidy says while scrunching up her nose and folding her arms.

"Cassidy, I really hope we're in the same math class." Cassidy and I both absolutely blow at math, and all through middle school we were in the same class so I'm hoping that this year we are too.

"Me too, I died last year without you!" I smile. Cassidy and I have hung out a lot this summer, we've always been pretty close but she's like my sister now. I'd trust her with my life.

Dylan is looking at all of us with big eyes. "I almost forgot, Stewart this is Dylan Jamieson. She's transferring into Alcott High. She'll be in our grade, and is the newest addition to the book club." I finish off. Stewart politely smiles and says hi.

"Do you go to Alcott High too?" Dylan asks, I'm glad that she's starting to talk more, she seems nice.

"Yea, I'm a senior!" Stewart says happily, I look up at his face and smile. He's so nice and perfect. I'm so lucky to have him.

"Food's up!" My dad says loudly. We each grab a burger and everyone sits in a circle on the grass. I grab Stewarts hand before he sits and motion to a vacant place underneath a tree by my house. He nods and we plop down.

"So, new girl?" Stewart asks while digging into his burger.

"I know, we were completely blindsided. But, she seems nice." I saw while looking over at Dylan who's laughing at one of Cassidy's joke.

"Yea, I'm sure it'll be okay, I mean if Becca never joined book club we may never of started dating." I sigh because he's right. I finish off my food and move and sit in the middle of Stewart's legs and lean back. He starts playing with my hair.

"I think this is going to be a great year." I say as I look up at the night sky.

Little did I know how wrong I was..

 **A/N:**

 **Hey guys! I realized that I did not put an author's note on the first chapter, but I love MDBC and decided to write this fanfic. I hope you all love it so far! Please review! I'll update soon!**


	3. Chapter 3

\- Cassidy -

"Hey Cassidy, wait up!" I hear a low voice shout as I'm walking down the halls of Alcott High. I turn my head slightly. Zach Norton. I'm still slightly unsure of what I feel for him. Triston is in England, so that's not even in the picture, but it's Zach. The same Zach that all of my friends have been in love with for years. I throw him a smile as he jogs to catch up with me.

"Chemistry?" He asks, and for a minute I think he's referring to us, but soon realize he means the class.

"Yea, headin there now." I say and he smiles and we start walking. Zach and I have kissed a couple times but other then that our relationship is pretty friendly as far as I'm concerned. I drop my hand down and our finger tips brush. Then he grabs my hand and our fingers are intertwined. He looks over at me while we walk and I smile, as if to acknowledge that it's okay. I give his hand a squeeze.

"Hey uh, Cassidy!" I hear another voice call my name. I turn around to find Dylan. Zach looks a little confused as I drop his hand. He places his hand on my lower back.

"Hey Dylan, what's up?" I ask politely. I haven't quiet made my mind up about her. She seems nice but there's something a little off about her.

"Um I was wondering where this class is?" She asks, I notice her looking at Zach. I take note and will be sure to mention it to Emma and Jess later. I take a look at her paper with her classes sprawled on it.

"We're actually headed there now, why don't you walk with us?" I offer, Zach nods his head.

"Thanks so much, I was so lost." She replies and sighs loudly. We turn around and head in the direction to the Chemistry lab. I grab Zach's hand again and can see him smile in the corner of my eye.

"So, what's your name?" Dylan asks Zach while batting her eyelashes.

"I'm Zach Norton" He answers while eyeing me. "Dylan." She replies while sticking her arm out. Zach shakes it and we make our way to the Chemistry lab.

We take our seats and listen to Mr. Guthridge explain the expectations for the year. Soon the bell rings and it's lunch time. Zach and I head to the cafeteria, Dylan follows us.

I spot Emma and Megan quietly discussing something at a table they reserved for us. I plop down and Zach sits in between Emma and Myself. Dylan sits down next to me. I pick at the food that my mom packed me.

"My life is over." Emma sighs out heavily while running her hands through her hair. Emma's got curly blonde locks and for a while it was very short but she grew it out over the summer and it looks really good.

"Why?" Zach asks as Third and Ethan sit down at our table.

"I was singing while I was washing my hands in the girls bathroom and Ms. Cranfield heard me and now she thinks I'm destined for greatness." She groans. I don't have much to say because Emma has always been able to sing she just never shared it with anyone.

"You can _sing_?" Becca asks as she slides smoothly into her seat in between Dylan and Third.

"No. I can't" Emma insists and gets up to walk over to the senior tables. She spots Stewart and they leave the cafeteria. I've always thought they work incredibly well together. Even if they're both dorks.

On Friday I'm having all the girls over for a sleepover, I haven't invited Dylan over yet, mostly because she seems really sketchy. Megan insists that she's nice enough and that I should give her a chance. It's only Monday though, so we'll see how the next couple of days go. I look down at my lunch and dig in. My mother packed me a BLT sandwich and some chips. I glance over at Megan, who's poking a sandwhich her mother packed her. Mrs. Wong is really sweet but she is the biggest health nut I've ever met. Megan sighs and pushes her sandwich away. I take one half of my sandwich and push it over to Megan.

"Really?" She asks.

"Sure, no big deal." I reply shrugging.

"How long have you all been friends?" Dylan asks while eyeing Zach.

"About 5 years." Becca replies, she fails to mention the 2 years she and her posse spent torturing Emma and Jess. Jess, Emma and I think of Becca as a frenemy. She's really nice now for the most part, but no one can erase how she treated Jess and especially Emma.

"That's really nice, I wish I had a group of friends like that." Dylan sighs as she begins to eat her food. I squint at her. I'm really not sure how I feel about her. She seems very fake and insecure.

"Well, you have us now." Becca says while smiling at her. We all smile and nod in agreement. I nod my head.

There's something not right about this girl. And I'm going to figure it out.


	4. Chapter 4

-Megan-

"Bye Dad!" I holler as I pull my gucci backpack over my shoulder and head inside the Sloane-Kinkaid household.

"The girls are in Cassidy's room" Cassidy's mom says politely and disappears into the kitchen. I jog up the stairs and enter Cassidy's room. Becca has a disgusted look on her face, Cassidy is screeching with laughter, Jess is thinking and has a serious look on her face, Emma has her face buried in her hands, and Dylan's face is red.

"Whats going on?" I ask cautiously.

"Emma wants to have sex with my brother!" Becca shouts with horror. My eyes widen. We are only 16, I didn't think that it was something any of us were thinking about. Emma is dating Stewart Chadwick. He's really sweet and nice but he's about 2 years older than us. So I can understand why Emma is thinking about it.

"Okay well have you guys talked about it?" Jess asks.

"No, well yes, I'm not sure." Emma says, she seems really confused. Becca's face has a look of realization.

"When you came over yesterday, and you suddenly ran out, what happened?" Becca asks, Emma sighs.

"We were making out and clothes were off. Stewart and I have done stuff before but there was like an intensity about it. I asked him to stop because I got scared and I was so embarrassed I threw my clothes on and ran out He's probably so confused." Emma says as tears well up in her eyes.

Jess stand up and walks over to Emma who's laying on Cassidy's bed and gives her a hug.

Emma sits up and rubs her eyes and moves her glasses off her face.

"Emma, do you love Stewart?" Emma looks up

"Of course I do." She replies with a bit of sass.

"Then talk to him." Dylan says suddenly. We all look over. I forgot she was here. Cassidy finally gave in to me convincing her that it'd be mean to not invite her. I saw Dylan checking Zach out though, and I also saw Cassidy and Zach holding hands. So I can understand why Cassidy was hesitant although she'd never admit it.

Emma nods.

"Girls dinner is ready!" Mrs. Sloane-Kinkaid shouts up the stairs. We all push ourselves up and shuffle downstairs. The smell of homemade pizza is filled through the air. Cassidy's mom is the best cook I've ever met, she even has her own show _Cooking with Clementine_

 _._ I reluctantly slide 3 slices onto my plate and dig in. Cassidy's mom and stepdad ask us questions about school and how it's going throughout dinner. We pull out a couple pints of ice cream and go into Cassidy's backyard with a blanket.

We all sit in a circle, delving into our ice cream. Emma's phone rings signaling she got a text and she jumps. That's weird, I think to myself, no one else seems to notice, they're all talking and Dylan's on her phone. I shrug, I probably am overthinking it.

"So Dylan, do you think of the boys are cute?" Becca giggles out, I smile, of course this is the first question Becca asks.

"Um, well no not really" Dylan says and Becca groans.

"Where are you from again?" Cassidy asks with ice cream in her mouth.

"Cassidy that's so gross." I scold and hand her a napkin. She sticks her tongue out at me and then wipes her mouth.

"I'm from Jackson. It's in wyoming" She replies.

"That's really cool, I've always wanted to go to Wyoming" Jess says back enthusiastically. I glance at Becca who has a sneer on her face, she's thinking the same thing as me. too in the middle of nowhere.

Dylan smiles and her and Jess dive into a conversation about the wild life.

I look over at Emma who's whispering with Cassidy and Becca.

"I have the best friends ever." I think to myself. And I think Dylan is going to fit right in. Or so I thought.


	5. Chapter 5

-Becca-

BEEP BEEP! My alarm screeches from beside my bed and I groan as I wake up. It's the first day of the second week of school. I push myself out of bed and shower and change. I'm thinking a pair of jeans with a nice white top and a pair of black converse. I straighten my hair out and push a headband through it. I brush my teeth and look up at the mirror to fix my make up.

"Becs come on! We're getting Emma on the way!" Stewart hollers up the stairs. I groan inwardly, Emma Hawthorne is nice and all but it's still weird that she's dating my brother. Too add to it, she wants to have sex with him! I didn't think that any of us were thinking about that yet. I grab my backpack and swing it over my shoulder.

"Sorry, I'm coming!" I shout as I speed down the stairs. We both hop into our family SUV and we make our way over to the Hawthorns. Stewart and I fight over the radio station and finally settle on one. We pull up to the Hawthorns and find Emma waiting on the porch, she's looking at her phone and has a hurt expression on her face. Once she realizes that we're here, she pushes herself up and dusts off her outfit. Emma's style has been impeccable this year. It must have been something in the water over in England but she looks amazing almost everyday. Today, she's wearing a pair of tight patterned shorts and a long sleeve white shirt that's a little baggy but it balances the outfit, on her feet she's wearing a pair of black sandals. Her curly hair is hanging down and she's wearing a little make up. I approve.

"Hey!" Emma says as she climbs in the back. She pushes her bag next to her and slides her seatbelt on. We both convince Stewart to stop and get coffee on the way. We pull into a Dunkin Donuts and we all hop out and walk towards the entrance, there's a small line but we manage to push through and order and get our drinks in a short amount of time. We climb back into the car and continue our drive. I hear Emma's phone buzz and see her jump a little when she realizes it's her phone. That's weird.

"Em, what do you think of Dylan so far?" Emma's head snaps up from her phone. Her face is red.

"She's okay, Cassidy thinks there's something up with her." I nod my head, I agree with Cassidy. I can see that Emma does too. We pull up to the school and hop out, I march ahead of Stewart and Emma who are draped over each other and whispering to each other. Gross, I think. I go to my locker to find Cassidy and Megan whispering to each other quietly.

"Hey!" I say as I walk over, I inspect both of their outfits. Megan's wearing a light pink summer dress and a pair of slides, I approve. Cassidy is wearing a pair of jean short and some old t-shirt, I do not approve. I realize that they both seem anxious.

"What's up?"I ask cautiously. Cassidy casts a look behind me and I look, it's Dylan and she's chatting to Zach Norton. I raise an eyebrow. Cassidy and Zach have been something for a couple of years. As much as that annoys me, it's true. Anyone with eyes can see it. I turn back around to look at Cassidy and Megan.

"She's trouble." I say and think about Emma in the car with her phone. "Has Emma been acting funny around her phone?" I ask, Megan's eyes widen a little.

"I noticed something, it's like she's afraid of her phone or something." Megan replies.

"Hey guys!" Emma suddenly pops up. I wish Jess were here, we don't see her much since she went to Colonial Academy and she could instantly know what's wrong. Stewarts behind Emma. Even though they're dorks, they're really cute together.

"What's up dude?" Cassidy says and nods her head at Stewart.

"Why is Dylan talking to Zach Norton?" Emma asks while quirking an eyebrow at Cassidy. Cassidy shrugs her shoulders looking annoyed. Stewart wraps his arms around Emma from behind and kisses her cheek as Dylan and Zach march over. Dylan squeezes her body in between Megan and myself as Zach walks over to Cassidy and takes her hand. Emma's phone rings and she almost jumps out of Stewart's arms and her eyes grow wide. I look at Cassidy and Megan, they saw that as well.

"You okay, Em?" Dylan asks while shoving her phone in her pocket. Emma nods and leans into Stewart. The bell rings signaling the start of first period.

"I'll see you guys tonight for our meeting" Emma says while her and Megan and Cassidy head off to math. Tonight's meeting is at the Delaneys, I'm super excited because the Delaneys have the most beautiful farm ever and they always have good food at their meetings. I hope tonight goes well, I think to myself as I walk to Chemistry.

I was so wrong.


	6. Chapter 6

~ Jess ~

"Jessica Delaney, you better come down here right now and help me set up for tonights meeting!" My mom screams up the stairs. I jump a bit in Darcy's arms. I sigh and push myself up and pause the movie that we were watching. I look at him, as if I'm apologizing and shout back to my mom.

"I'm coming!" We both stand up and jog down the stairs. I walk Darcy out and give him a kiss goodbye. Tonight we have the meeting at my house and I'm stoked. We don't get to see much of each other since I went back to Colonial Academy.

I help my mom throw together some snacks and put them out on the counter. I run upstairs and change out of my sweatpants and sweatshirt and put on a jean skirt and tuck in a white top. Good enough, I think as I look in my mirror. I jog back downstairs with my copy of **Before I fall** in my hands. I walk into our living room and see Cassidy's car pull in. Cassidy jumps out in nike shorts and an oversized t shirt and converse. She looks sweaty and tired. Hockey, I think to myself. I open up the door for them, and as soon as Cassidy sees me she grabs my arm and drags me up to my room.

"We need to talk about Dylan." She says quickly. "There's something not right about her. I thought I'd like her but I can tell. There is something that just isn't right."

I chew on my lip for a minute, thinking this through. I don't see Dylan much solely based on the fact that I go to Colonial and she's just not really my friend.

"I'll keep an eye on her tonight." I tell Cassidy. Even though, I haven't seen anything, I believe Cassidy. We hear the door open and close, following Mrs. Wong's voice explaining her healthy hummus. We head for the stairs when Cassidy grabs my arm again. I turn my head towards her.

"Watch Emma as well. She's been acting weird." I frown. Emma? Is she sure? I nod my head though and continue down the stairs. I plop in the living room to find the Wongs and the Hawthornes. Emma is the corner of a couch, her hair is messily in a bun, she's wearing no makeup. She's wearing sweatpants, sweatshirt, and slippers. I frown again. She's been pretty superstitious about what she wears since she got back from England. I sit down next to her and she jumps, and her eyes widen.

"It's just me." I say. Her phone buzzes on her knee and her head snaps toward her knee and she flips her phone over quickly before I can see what she got. I look a little closer at her. She looks exhausted. She tugs at her sleeves and curls up a little more. The Jamiesons arrive and so do the Chadwicks.

"So, what do we all think of the book so far?" Mrs. Hawthorne asks. Emma hands shoots up and we all laugh and look at her. She's been doing that since the first meeting. Her hand falls down though, and curls up a little more on the couch, if that's possible. And she puts her head down. That's very weird, usually Emma yells at us for making fun of her and she continues on about the book. But this is different. Cassidy's right, somethings wrong. We continue on the conversation of the book and soon enough the moms are talking about something and we are all crammed in my room.

"Guys, my parents are going out of town this weekend. Big party at my place on Friday!" Becca says excitedly from my bed. Emma, who's been silent for the whole night perks up at this.

"Really?" Emma says. "Cool!" Her phone buzzes again and her face goes red.

"You okay, Em?" Her eyes scan over all of us, she's not sure what to say, I can tell.

"Yea." She whispers. I look over at Cassidy. She nods her head. Something's wrong. And we need to figure out what.

On Wednesday I invite Megan, Becca, and Cassidy over. I don't tell them what it's about because they already know.

"Emma." We all say at once, when we are all in my room.

"We need to know what on her phone is scaring her so much." Cassidy says with determination in her eyes. I nod.

"How could we get her phone away from her, just so we could check the messages?" Megan asks

"We could ask Stewart for help. Stewart has noticed too. He said they talked about it and she wouldn't tell him" Becca explains. I nod my head slowly. If Emma isn't talking to Stewart about it either, then something is really going on.

"Call him." Cassidy says. Becca pulls out her phone and types out a number and puts it on speaker phone.

"Hey" Stewart answers.

"We need to talk to you about Emma" Megan says

We can hear Stewart sigh. "I know, something's wrong." He says after a minute.

"I say we wait for her to put her phone down and see if we can look at it and see what's going on." Stewart is quiet for a while.

"That's probably all we can do, but we need to talk to Darcy about it too. He needs to know." Stewart answers. I nod my head.

"I'll talk to him before your party on Friday and get him in on the loop, I'll see if he knows anything." I say.

"Okay, lets hope this works. Bye guys." Stewart says with worry filling his voice.

Friday comes quickly, and soon enough Darcy is at my house sitting on my bed while I get ready for the Chadwicks party.

"Which one?" I ask him while holding up two dresses, both casual but nice.

"That one." He says pointing to my left hand.

"I need to talk to you about Emma." I say.

"I know, she's not been herself these past couple of weeks. She hasn't eaten with us for like a whole week at dinner." Darcy says. "Mom thinks that it's stress but I don't know, she's been dressing differently too." He finishes. I digest the information. This is bad. Really bad.

"We talked to Stewart yesterday, on the phone and he's gonna help us figure it out. Can you help?" He nods back steadily. He looks worried. I realize I probably look just as worried. I still look like this when Darcy and I show up at the Chadwicks. There's a good amount of people at the party and I spot Emma almost right away. Her hair again is in a messy bun. She's wearing jeans a t shirt and converse. Her outfit looks a little better, but her face says it all, she looks so sad. I smile and wave at her. She's attached to Stewart, who has his arm around her waist. Her phone is tucked in her jean pocket. I nudge Darcy and we start moving towards them.

"Hey guys, I'm so glad you could make it." Stewart says. Emma forces a smile in Darcy's direction but doesn't even try with me. She takes a sip of her drink, which I'm pretty sure is beer. I breath a deep breath. This is gonna be really hard. But I remind myself that the night is still young and the book club, plus Darcy, Zach, Ethan, and Third are staying after everyone else leaves. Which gives us opportunity. I look around to find Cassidy but can't find her. Darcy and I spend most of the night making small talk with everyone, neither of us drink but everyone else does and it's hilarious to see Kevin Mullins drunk. Soon enough it's about 1am and we are all sitting in the Chadwicks living room.

Emma sits next to me, her phone slips out of her hands, I almost fall out of my chair to get it for her. It buzzes and I see quickly what's on the screen. In that moment, I wanted to be sick and cry and scream all at the same time. The reason Emma hasn't been Emma. The reason she's sad.

I swallow the lump in my throat as I come to realization.

Emma's being bullied.

 **Author's Note: Hi! Oh my lord, I am so sorry for not posting sooner. This chapter and the one is to come deals with some serious stuff. Who do you guys think is bullying Emma? And what is the bully saying? Let me know! I'll update soon! xoxoxo**


	7. Chapter 7

\- Emma -

Jess freezes as she reads the message on my phone which is laying on the ground. My eyes are wide and I can't help but squeeze Stewart's hand. Jess has tears in her eyes, as she rereads the text on my phone. I want to say something but I can't, I'm completely frozen. Everyone else in the room stops talking and is staring at Jess and I.

"How could you not tell me?" Jess says finally. I sigh out in relief for some reason but then I get angry all of a sudden and I can't help but yell at her for being so selfish.

"Excuse me? How could I not tell you? How could I not tell you what? That someone is sending me horrible messages? I'm sorry was that too difficult for you?" I push myself off the couch and storm out of the room and head to Stewart's bedroom. I'm so angry, I don't even know what to do. I'm not even entirely sure why I yelled at Jess. I sit on Stewarts bed and rest my elbows on my thighs and put my face in my hands.

All of the texts start repeating in my brain and I just want to scream. But there's a knock on the door. I groan inwardly but let out a "Yes."

Jess, Cassidy, Becca, and Megan come in. "It's us." Megan says. I look up and scan them all. Cassidy has my phone in her hand and my throat tightens. I look away.

"Em, we need to talk about this." Becca says as they all take seats around the room. I nod.

"What's there to talk about?" I say while looking at the ground. I'm not sure what to say.

"Are you joking? Emma, you're being bullied! Is that why you've been dressing differently and acting a little different? Emma, we love you for your dorky self!" Cassidy says all of this with confidence. I push myself off Stewarts bed and walk over to the window. I think very carefully about what I'm going to say next.

" **You're worthless.**

 **Who do you think you are, you ugly piece of shit.**

 **You're a pathetic excuse for a human.**

 **I cannot believe Stewart is into you, you're so fat and disgusting.**

 **You exist, and you're the worst thing that has ever happened to this planet."** I say the ones that I can remember while looking out the window. I spin around to find that Stewart, Darcy, Zach, Third and Ethan are standing by the door. And then all at once. I break down. I burst into tears and fall to the ground. Stewart comes over and holds me and then all at once, I'm being put back together. Everyone comes around me and squeezes the group hug.

"How do I handle this? I have no idea how to deal with this." I scream out and sob.

"You've got us." Zach whispers. Stewart kisses my forehead and I lean into him.

After what feels like eternity, Darcy speaks up. "Now how do we figure out who this coward is?"

Stewart and Darcy look angry. Really angry. I tense up. I hadn't even thought about who it was.

" Who do you think it is, Em?" Becca asks while running her hands through her hair.

"I don't know," I frown for a minute as I peer at the clock by Stewarts bed. "Could we talk about this tomorrow morning?"

"Of course, Em." They all leave and I stay on Stewart's bed. Stewart sits next to me on the bed. Jess closes the door behind her. I feel Stewart's hand on my back, and I can't help but feel guilty.

"I wanted to tell you, but you've been so stressed with college and school, I didn't want to give you another reason to be stressed." I breath out. I look over at him, his gray eyes are filled with tears. "I'm sorry." I say and look down. I messed up again.

Stewart finally says something. " Look at me," I push my head up to look at him again. "You are the most amazing human being on this planet. You are smart and kind. You are so independent, and beautiful. Do not let anyone tell you who you are." I pull him in and kiss him fiercely.

"I love you." I breath out. "I love you more" He says back and pulls me back in. All at once we are pulling each others clothes off and are two entangled bodies in love. "Are you sure?" Stewart asks, "I'm ready" I respond.

 **Author's Note: I cannot tell you how sorry I am for not getting this chapter to you guys sooner. I've been so busy at school! But I hope you liked it so far! I will try and update as soon as possible xoxo**


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